Offinso North Communities Left in Darkness as Electrification Project Skips 6 Villages, Residents Allege Extortion.
Offinso North, Ashanti Region– Communities including Domeabra, Amponsahkrom, Nsenoa, Dwenedabi, Apemkrom, Yaakyemkrom, and other neighboring villages have expressed deep disappointment and anger after an electrification project meant to connect their homes was diverted to other villages far from the main road.
Residents allege that local leaders collected money from households under the pretext of “feeding fees” for engineers working on the project.
According to community members, those who could not afford the initial amount were threatened that they would have to pay double.
“The saddest part is, after we paid, the same leaders came back and said the money had been spent,” a resident told our reporter.
“Now they are demanding an additional GHS 70 from each household, saying the engineers’ feeding fees have increased and they borrowed foodstuffs that must be paid by the commuters.”
The situation has left many households in Domeabra, Amponsahkrom, Nsenoa, Dwenedabi, Apemkrom, Yaakyekrom, and surrounding areas in darkness while electrification poles and cables were extended to other villages located farther from the main road.
Adding to the frustration, residents say the Presiding Member of the Offinso North District Assembly, who also serves as Assembly Member for the Nsenoafie Electoral Area, has himself been living without power.
“He says the darkness delays his daily activities. You may call the assembly man and his phone might be off,” one community member said.
The affected communities are now appealing to government officials to intervene.
They specifically mentioned H.E. John Dramani Mahama, the Minister of Energy, the District Chief Executive for Offinso North, the Member of Parliament for Offinso North, and the incumbent Assembly Member/Presiding Member to “keep pushing for them to get electrification.”
Residents say they are ready to cooperate with any official investigation into how the funds were used and how the project routing was decided.
Efforts to reach the Assembly Member for comment were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report, as calls to his phone went off.
